The present invention relates to a reinforcing member for a vehicle body for connecting a spaced-apart portion thereof, particularly to the reinforcing member of a vehicle for suppressing a deformation of a vehicle body panel while the vehicle is running.
The reinforcing member for the vehicle is often used in the vehicle for suppressing the deformation of the vehicle body panel, a relative displacement of each part of the vehicle body, or the like, which occurs while the vehicle is moving. As is well known, this kind of reinforcing member includes a sheet-like reinforcing member made of resin for improving a rigidity of the vehicle body panel itself, a panel-like reinforcing member made of a metal and welded on back side of the vehicle body panel, the reinforcing member made of the metal for connecting the two spaced-apart portions of the vehicle body, or the like.
The following configuration has been proposed for improving the rigidity of the entire vehicle body by connecting the two spaced-apart portions of the vehicle body. A bar-shaped member mounted across the two portions is divided into two parts, the one part of which is provided with a cylinder, and the other part of which is provided with a piston that slides to contact with an inner periphery side of the cylinder (For example, see Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-211437). Inside the cylinder is formed by two oil chambers filled with oil. When the piston slides in the cylinder upon an elastic motion of the bar-shaped member, the oil flows through orifices penetrating a piston ring so as to obtain a damping force.
However, the structure of the vehicle body as described above, has a problem that the vehicle body with the reinforcing member firmly fixed thereon is partially twisted when a load is applied to the reinforcing member, which results to decrease a drivability and a ride comfortableness thereon. There is likely to be another problem that a stress easily concentrates near a fixed part of the reinforcing member or in other weak areas of the vehicle body as the vehicle body is partially twisted, and as a consequence, a strength or a reliable durability of the vehicle body is partially decreased.